


Snapshots (of a Life Well-Lived)

by AtLoLevad



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/M, Family, Future Fic, Humor, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-04 05:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5321879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLoLevad/pseuds/AtLoLevad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little moments in Meredith Brody and Christopher LaSalle's life together. Featuring appearances by the whole Nola team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Augusta Emily LaSalle was born just about five weeks early, a fact that sent her daddy into a complete tizzy.

Her mama, Merri Brody the interrogation master, resident Yankee, and reigning champ of team Pictionary, was committed to working right up until labor, or whenever Chris LaSalle and Dwayne Pride kicked her out of the office.

(To be quite honest, she really thought that Chris and King we're going to kick her out long before she went into labor. Shows her for thinking that way.)

And there she found herself, at almost 35 weeks pregnant, in the office working through her boys' paperwork with a sudden puddle of amniotic fluid around her feet.

"Oh no oh no," she murmured to herself.

And that's where the story gets murky.

Merri Brody will tell you the story goes like this:

When she saw the fluid soaking her shoes (sneakers because heels were banished from her wardrobe, as per Christopher LaSalle), Merri groaned and her heart sunk to her stomach.

Baby LaSalle was too early and Merry had to stay calm.

So, she reached quickly for her phone to call Chris. And when it went to voicemail she left a short voicemail before trying Dwayne, Percy, Patton, Loretta, and Sebastian, in that order.

And when none of them answered, an emergency call to 911 was made.

Merri Brody will tell you she was calm, cool, and collected throughout the whole thing.

As Merri Brody tells it, that's how she got to the hospital.

Chris LaSalle will tell a different story. (This one is closer to the truth.)

He will tell you that a frantic, very close to hysterical voicemail greeted him when he checked his phone after their successful raid.

"Oh shit," he then cursed, waving Pride and Percy down, "It's Merri. She's in labor. We need ta get goin'."

LaSalle spent the drive back to their office frantically dialing Merri. Each and every time she didn't pick up he growled a little louder.

"You welcoming a tiger cub, LaSalle?" Percy had grinned, teasing the older agent, but falling silent when both Pride and LaSalle glared at her.

"Sorry, sorry," she held her hands up in surrender.

LaSalle will tell you he pretty much rolled out of the car while it was still moving to get Merri from the office.

(Pride will tell you the car was at a stop when he jumped out and bolted like a scared animal.)

And when Chris couldn't find sight of Merri (other than the wet spot on the floor by her desk) he panicked and shouted back to Pride, "She prob'ly at the hospital. Mebbe we can beat her there?"

"We'll sure as hell try, Christopher," Pride said, worry for his other agent clearly and plainly written on his face.

Chris LaSalle will tell you he was worried as all hell and that when he saw Merri Brody in her hospital bed, worried crease between her eyebrows, he was not ashamed that a few tears leaked out.

After that, things are a bit of a blur.

Time speeds up and it slows down.

Merri had been rushed immediately to an OR, with doctors explaining that they couldn't risk the complications a natural birth might cause

Just under half an hour later, Merri is delivered of a tiny baby girl.

Tiny, but the doctors assure them, very healthy for a 34-week gestation.

Chris thinks briefly that the baby is beautiful and then she is rushed to the NICU to be put in an incubator, just in case.

Merri is stitched up and returned to her room where Pride and Percy, and Loretta and Sebastian are waiting.

LaSalle kind of, sort of heads them off so Merri can rest. In a tone holding a mixture of pure joy at his daughter's arrival and heart-clenching fear for her health, he tells his (their) strange little family about Augusta Emily's arrival.

He answers their questions happily, but also quickly since he doesn't want to leave Merri alone.

Named for her daddy's grandmama and her mama's sister.

Four an' a half pounds.

Sixteen inches long, little bit scrawny.

Dark hair and jus' as damn beautiful as her mama.

"And how is Merri?" Loretta asks, worried.

This is when Chris realizes he's left his wife alone for far too long. He promises to update them soon, even as he's got his back to them, heading into Merri's room.

Merri looks good for a lady who's just had an emergency C-section at 34 weeks. Tired and pale and still a little scared, but Chris thinks she's gorgeous and he'd more than anything like to kiss her right now.

But her hair is sweaty and pasted to her face and she's nibbling at her pinkie nail. Chris can see on her face that she blames herself.

(Merri is a slightly older first time mama. Preterm labor was a risk.)

(Merri is also nothing short of a perfectionist. She didn't think preterm labor would be a problem for her

Merri will tell you that she knew Chris needed to comfort someone so she let him sit next to her on the bed and stroke her hair and tell her he's so proud of her and their baby girl is a beauty.

Chris will tell you that Merri needed comfortin' and he knew that 'cause when he did sit next to her and stroke her hair she said nothin' in the way of protests.

They're both very, very right.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Merri is only in the hospital for a few days, the baby will be there a week or so, just to make sure.

Pride refuses to let the new parents into the office, instead insisting that they spend time with "that precious baby girl" and fixing up the nursery that they still thought they had a month to finish.

Chris and Merri spend a lot of time in the NICU, just talking and talking to the baby. They tell her how they met, about her namesakes, about her New Orleans family. Hell, they talk about the damn weather.

(Merri has never been so grateful that Chris could talk to a wall.)

(Chris has never been so grateful that Merri is a meticulous researcher. She has them both relieved about the baby's health, it's as if she were born right on time.)

Chris is allowed to hold baby Augusta for the first time at the end of her third day in the NICU. Tears come to his eyes because she is just so small. She's cradled in his hands, barely the length of his forearm.

"I love you, Christopher LaSalle," Merri murmurs, watching the two loves of her life get to know each other.

Without taking his eyes off of his daughter ("She's so damn small, Merri! What if she slips righ' through m'fingers?"), Chris gives a broad grin and says, "An' I love you, lovely Agent Brody."


	2. Chapter 2

Augusta (or Gus as Chris has affectionately nicknamed her) is an only child until she is two. Mama and Daddy explain to her that she is getting a baby brother or sister. They tell her that the baby will live in the bedroom next to hers and it is Gus' responsibility to be a good big sister and teach her baby brother or sister things.

Gus doesn't think she wants a baby brother or sister. Even at two-years-old she is aware that a baby means less time with Mama and Daddy.

(She's a smart one. Chris credits her mama for that.)

Sometimes Chris and Merri lay awake for hours trying to figure out how to get Gus to want her baby sibling. Chris' hand is always running over Merri's stomach and Merri is always yawning.

(She is older and this pregnancy has exhausted her.)

(Gus is also going through the Terrible Twos. Which is a whole 'nother story.)

"Maybe one of those baby dolls?" Merri says, words muffled as she yawns.

"I don' see why we need to even get her used ta the idea," Chris is confused because he doesn't remember his own mama and dad preparing him for Rachel's arrival.

(To be fair, he was three and a half when Rachel was born. But still…)

Merri shrugs, "All the books say you should."

(Merri likes reading books about child rearing. Chris thinks they're a load of horseshit.)

(Sometimes Merri agrees with him.)

(This time she goes with her gut. The baby doll is happening.)

(LaSalle and Pride head to the toy store on a lunch break. Merri sends them back four different times because they got the wrong doll.)

("How could we have gotten th' wrong doll? They all look th'same.")

Gus is given the (right) baby doll and encouraged to take care of it.

She hurls it down the stairs on the first day.

"Well," LaSalle laughs, scooping his baby daughter up and blowing a raspberry on her tummy, grinning as she lets out a peal of high-pitched laughter, "We jus' won't let her watch th' baby unsupervised."

Merri cracks a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's snapshot number 2...they'll be in and out of chronological order, so if you want to see something from Gus' first two years of life or before, drop me a review or a message her or on Tumblr with the prompt.
> 
> This one is definitely shorter than the last one, but I have a few that are much longer. So everything is going to be in various lengths.
> 
> Um, I think that's all I have to say! So I hope you enjoyed and please drop me a review to let me know what you think! :)


	3. Chapter 3

For her small start in life, Augusta LaSalle grows like a damn weed, as her daddy likes to say.

By the time she's five or so, Gus (as they've taken to calling her) (after all, to make a five-year-old learn to write 'Augusta' on her homework sheets is just plain cruel.) is all knobby knees and bony elbows. She's got not a bit of baby fat on her, not even when Papa King slips her one too many beignets at Mardi Gras.

She's a pint-sized tomboy. Grass stained knees and know-it-all quirk of her mouth belying her debutante first name.

Gus' favorite seat is right on Papa King's lap, bowl of gumbo resting on the table in front of her. She'll kick away at the desk's legs, humming along to a tune only she knows, watching with sharp eyes as her mama and daddy run in and out of the office, "chasin' bad guys" as daddy tells her.

Sometimes she sits with mama or daddy or Auntie Sonja. But her favorite spot is with Papa King.

He tells the best stories, after all.

(And he sometimes keeps Hershey's kisses in a cup in his desk, just for her.)

And when Brody comes along and tries to take her favorite seat, they get into fights.

Mama yells when that happens and Daddy has to drag them apart. Gus doesn't like being yelled at, but she likes when she gets to dangle in the air, being supported only by Daddy's arms.

Sometimes, she lets Brody sit with Papa King.

(But only when one of her other adults has something fun to show her, like daddy's phone or mama's notepad and purple pen.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is super short, but I've had it written for a little bit and wanted to post something while I work on a few longer stories. This one was also written before the last chapter so if it reads a little weirdly, that's why :)
> 
> Just as a quick note to one of the anonymous reviews I got: I didn't know that Lucas Black's son's name is Gus. That Augusta is nicknamed Gus actually came from a young adult book I read a few years ago. The name felt super Southern to me and perfect for a Cherri baby. So...yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

"Chris?" Merri calls when she hears the creaking floorboards. She'd get up and check herself, but her round belly makes almost everything difficult nowadays.

"Yeah," her husband's voice comes back a whisper since it is after 9 and he knows Gus will be fast asleep, "It's me."

In the next few seconds, Chris LaSalle appears in their bedroom doorway, looking world weary and absolutely filthy.

Merri's eyes go wide, "Chris! What happened?" She leans up on her elbow to get a better look at him.

"Fell inta the swamp," he scowls, shedding clothes and dropping them to the floor. Merri winces as the smell wafts towards her nose. She clamps a hand over her mouth and struggles off the bed so she can run to the bathroom.

"Aw, shit!" Chris says, making to run after her. Her hair's too short to hold off of her face, but rubbing at Merri's back seemed to help a little in the early months of morning sickness.

Merri's retching pauses and she shakes her head when Chris stops in the bathroom doorway. "No! Seriously, if you get any closer, Chris, I'll vomit again."

Despite the situation, Chris' lips turn up in a smile, "Ya weren't sayin' that las' night."

"Chris..."Merri groans, hugging the toilet bowl.

"Sorry, sorry," he holds his hands up in surrender (not that Merri can see that, what with her head practically in the toilet bowl). "Ya want I should get some crackers and ginger ale?"

"Yes, please," Merri sighs. Chris' footsteps fade away and Merri slumps against the edge of the bathtub. One hand holds up her head and the other rests against her stomach, right at the spot where LaSalle Baby #2 is kicking away.

"You're going to be just as difficult as the other two, aren't you?" Merri mumbles, tone full of affection.

The smell gone with Chris for now, Merri gathers her strength to get up and brush her teeth quickly. Chris is back in the bedroom before she's done and he hovers in the doorway.

"Should I come in or are ya gonna hurl again?" he asks, balancing the can of soda and plate of crackers.

Merri pauses to take stock. He stomach isn't churning so much anymore.

"Okay," she says, "You can come in. But leave the crackers and go shower quickly. I can't promise that I won't throw up again."

He grins, "Gotcha."

Merri gratefully takes the ginger ale and sips. Chris leaves the plate of saltines on their bed.

"You're okay now?" he brushes a strand of hair off of her forehead.

"Mmhm," she hums, "Go shower."

"Yes, ma'am," Chris grins. He leans forward to peck at Merri's lips with a quick kiss before turning and grabbing his dirty, smelly clothes off of the floor. He drops them in the hamper in the bathroom down the hall before stripping and showering as fast as he can.

He just wants to get in bed with his wife.

Ten minutes later, after Chris has thoroughly scrubbed swamp from his skin, he pads back into the bedroom.

Merri cautiously sniffs the air. "Good. Irish Spring."

"'M I 'llowed back in bed?" Chris asks on a laugh, letting his towel drop to the floor. Merri knows he does it on purpose, but damn does she like to look at his body. Lean, defined muscle ripples as he tugs on boxers.

She smiles, a little possessively, "Only if you keep the shirt off."

"Gladly," Chris drops the ratty Alabama shirt to the floor and climbs up onto the mattress. He leans back, hands behind his head, and sighs.

"Long day?" Merri says sympathetically, swapping out her long sleeve tee for a short sleeve one. She can feel Chris' eyes on her naked breasts and swollen stomach. She's roughly the size of a house, so his gaze should make her feel uncomfortable, but it doesn't. She feels surprisingly sexy.

"Mmm," he hums a little, making a sad little noise when Merri finally pulls a shirt on.

(It's an XXL New Orleans Saints shirt that Chris had won at a tee shirt toss years and years ago. Merri found it pushed in the back of a drawer when she was pregnant with Gus. It quickly became a favorite.)

"Want to talk about it?" she asks, climbing not at all gracefully into the bed and staying on her side of the bed. She waits to move close to Chris, because their job is hard and some days they need space.

"Nah," Chris says easily, reaching out to pull Merri close. She slides over, pressing her back flush against her husband's chest so she can be the little spoon.

"You sure?" she asks again, lifting her head a little so Chris can slip her arm under her neck. His arm wraps loosely around her neck, hand resting against her breast.

"Pos'tive," Chris mumbles into her hair. "Let's talk 'bout what we're namin' the baby."

His free hand rubs over her stomach, coming to rest against the lower swell of it. His thumb rubs against the spot just below her belly button and Merri knows he's hoping that his touch will get the baby to kick.

"Chris," Merri yawns, "I can't think about names now. My brain is gone."

Chris laughs and Merri feels the vibration from his chest. His hand strokes her stomach.

"We gotta name him, Mere," Chris grins, even though Merri can't see his face.

Merri moves even closer, tired and feeling a little lightheaded from throwing up. "Give me some options then."

She closes her eyes and lets Chris rub warm circles over her stomach as she listens.

They decided to be surprised, so he tosses out boy and girl names.

"Lindsey?"

"No. Too cheerleader."

"Grayson?"

"Oh god, Grayson LaSalle? He'd sound like a little plantation owner."

"It's not that bad, Mere."

"It's bad. What about Peter?"

"Peter? Naw."

"What's wrong with Peter?"

"Dunno. It just don't flow right. Annabelle?"

"Augusta and Annabelle? Chris, even you have to hear how aggressively Southern those names are."

"Fair point, wifey."

"Don't call me that. Reyna?"

"That ain't too bad. I kinda like it."

Merri sighs, "Oh good. We finally agree on one name at least."

Chris hums, distractedly. He's been thinking about a name for their second baby, should it be a boy. But he hasn't mentioned it to Merri, just in case she thinks it's a stupid idea.

"I can hear you thinking, Chris," Merri murmurs sleepily, nuzzling her cheek against his bicep. "What's on your mind?"

"I've been thinkin' Brody," he says, smiling to himself when the baby kicks against his palm.

"Go on," Merri encourages. "I'm listening." She stretches her legs out, feeling her hip pop a little. Chris winces as her cold feet press against his calves.

"Naw, I mean I've been thinkin' 'bout usin' Brody as a name. If the baby's a boy."

Merri struggles to roll over in Chris' arms so she can face him. There is a slight frown on her face.

"Brody?" she questions, one eyebrow rising. "Won't that be confusing?"

Chris shrugs, "I figured ya were such a good sport 'bout changin' yer last name personally. It might be nice ta carry on the Brody name."

The frown on her face softens, "I wanted to change my name. You don't have to reward me for that. Besides, if I'm being called 'Brody' at work and the hypothetical son named Brody hears, won't he think my name is Brody too?"

Chris frowns now, lines forming on his forehead. "Hadn't thought 'bout that. It is confusin', ain't it?"

"A little bit," Merri grins. A sudden cry from Gus' room breaks through the walls.

"I got her," Chris says, carefully getting off the bed. Merri watches him pad away, shamelessly staring at his ass.

All the way down to Gus' room Chris can't help but continue to think about baby names.

He really does like the name Brody.

Their second baby arrives a week and a half early. Not early enough to cause the same worry that Gus did, but still early.

And again, Chris isn't in the same place as Merri when she goes into labor. It's Pride that shuffles her off to the hospital and gets her settled into a room.

"Christopher LaSalle!" Merri yelps when he finally runs into her room, just twenty minutes after she and Pride got there. "This had better not become habit."

A broad, goofy grin on his face, Chris presses an apologetic kiss to her forehead and grabs a hand. "Sorry, Mere. Third time's the charm?"

"If there is a third time," Merri rolls her eyes and squeezes Chris' hand as a contraction hits.

"Looks like you're in good hands, Brody," Pride speaks up. "I'm gonna head back ta the office and give the gang an update. Good luck."

As he passes, he squeezes her shoulder, smiling encouragingly. Pride claps Chris on the back and murmurs, "Good luck, brother."

Merri offers up a pained smile as Pride leaves the room. Then she turns to Chris. "Where's Gus? Who has her?"

"Doc Wade," Chris replies, shucking his jacket and pushing up the sleeves on his henley. "She's happy as a pig in shit over there. There was even talk 'bout bringin' CJ and Danny over ta take her to the park."

Chris chatters away about nonsense to help distract Merri until the doctor and nurses reappear in time for her to push.

"Oh my god no more!" Merri shouts, practically breaking Chris' fingers. "No more kids!"

"Yer doin' amazin', Mere," Chris soothes, pushing her hair off of her forehead. He lets her squeeze his hand as hard as she needs to.

"Just one more, Mrs. LaSalle," the doctor encourages and God help him, Chris gets a thrill at hearing Merri be called 'Mrs. LaSalle'.

Merri lets out an agonized scream and her cries mix with the doctor announcing, "It's a boy!"

"A boy?" Chris' grin was as boyish and goofy as ever; stretching across his face and making him look like a child on Christmas morning.

Merri's crying and laughing and Chris can't stop kissing her face.

And then it all comes crashing down.

"Take him to the NICU," their doctor says quietly to a nurse. Chris watches, confused, as the baby is whisked away.

"Doc?" he asks, his voice drowned out by the sudden beeping from Merri's monitor.

His head snaps to the side, just in time to see Merri's face go greyish and her eyelids slid shut.

"What's happenin'?" he snaps, feeling fear pool low in his stomach. "Merri?"

He's pushed to the side a little as the nurses rush to the doctor's side. There are several pairs of hands moving in a flurry. An extra nurse pulls Chris out into the hallway. He goes easily, confused as to what's happening.

"Mr. LaSalle," the nurse says his name a few times, trying to catch his attention. Dazedly, Chris looks down at her.

"Sorry? What's happenin' with my wife and son?" he shakes his head in disbelief. God, this can't be happing again. Merri's right, no more kids. Not when something bad happens every time.

The nurse gives him a sympathetic look, "Your wife's experienced some bleedin'. The doctor's going to patch her right up and she'll be just fine."

Chris breathes a sigh of relief and then a surge of guilt hits him. He'd been the one to convince Merri to have a second baby. It's his fault that she's bleeding and being stitched up. It's his fault that the baby was rushed up to -

"My son? What's tha matter with him?" He asks, eyes wide. Chris will openly admit to not reading the baby books. Whereas Merri likes to be prepared for every single situation, Chris takes a more laissez-faire attitude to life, preferring to use his natural smarts and charm to deal with situations. He's cursing that attitude now. He should've read the damn books.

"He was shaking a little bit," the nurse explains gently. "We're just going to watch him for a bit. It could be just his temperature. He'll be just fine as well."

Chris runs a hand through his hair and his shoulders slump.

"You can go see him, if you'd like?" she catches Chris' eye to tell him this. "Your wife is going to be sedated for a bit, so there's nothing you can do for her."

Chris nods mutely and is torn. He wants so badly to see their son. But Merri. And shit, he's gotta call Pride.

He pulls out his phone and heads for the nursery. Even though Gus is two and it's been more'n two years since he'd been to the hospital nursery, his feet still know the way. He calls Pride while he's walking, asking the older man to check in on Gus and promising he'll call with an update.

Chris stops just outside the doors to the nursery, uncharacteristically nervous. He wonders how Merri is doing, how Gus is doing, how this new baby - a son! - is doing.

"Pull yerself t'gether, LaSalle," he mutters out loud and braces his shoulders as he pushes open the door.

He finds their son almost immediately, as if an invisible force is dragging him to the plastic cradle. The baby is shaking a little still, despite being under a heat lamp. Chris reads the little card attached to the plastic.

"Baby Boy LaSalle. 6 lbs. 13 oz. 18.5" long"

By all accounts he's a healthy baby. Chris breathes a sigh of relief. At least he's not underweight like Gus had been.

He flags down a nurse and asks if he can hold the baby, asks why he's still shaking.

"Oh that's going to go away. His blood sugar was low," the young woman explains, gathering up the newborn with expert hands and placing him in Chris' arms. "Have you and your wife decided on a name? We'd like to write it on the birth certificate as soon as possible."

Chris backtracks, "His blood sugar's low?"

She nods, "It's not a bad thing and it's completely fixable. It just means that his mama didn't eat enough leading to labor and he didn't get enough food. He was also a little cold when he came out and that's what the heat lamps are for."

"Oh," Chris says, looking down at the tiny bundle in his arms. The baby is still shivering a little, but it doesn't worry Chris (as much). He's wide awake, this tiny baby that's half him and half Merri, his mouth moving and hands flailing.

"It won't have any lasting impacts," the young nurse says. "Although he may need to be wrapped in a few more blankets than usual for a bit."

"Good," Chris says and can't keep his eyes off of the baby in his arms. A son! He has a son! The baby's eyes blink open slowly and Chris grins goofily, the full spectrum of his joy showing on his face.

"You've got yer mama's eyes," he laughs a little. The baby's eyes are a warm brown, exactly the color of Merri's.

The nurse smiles to herself and steps away so Chris can have time alone with the baby.

"Yer mama's gonna get real mad at me for this one," Chris says to the baby. "But I know exac'ly what yer name is, buddy."

"Chris?" Merri's voice is tired and a little slurred as she comes out of the sedation.

"Hey, Mama," he beams. "Ya did real good."

She closes her eyes and hums in response. Chris' grin never fades.

"Have some water," he holds the little cup and straw to her chapped lips and Merri sips slowly.

"How's the baby?" she asks when he pulls the cup away. Her eyebrows are furrowed in concern. "All I remember is the doctor saying it's a boy and then - " she waves her hand in the air, "Dark."

Chris nods, "Ya lost a lotta blood, Mere. Scared tha shit outta me."

"Sorry," Merri says quietly, feeling weak and sore and tired.

"'S fine," Chris holds her hand. "Yer fine now and so's the baby. Our son."

Chris' grin is broad and infectious, prompting a smile to bloom on Merri's face.

"Well," she huffs, feigning impatience, "Where is he?!"

"I'll be righ' back then," Chris winks at her and disappears out into the hallway. Presumably off to fetch their son.

Merri uses the free moments to push her hair off of her face and to take stock of her body. She's incredibly sore between the legs and even the slightest of shifts has her wincing.

Her breasts feel heavy and she knows that when Chris brings the baby back she'll try breastfeeding.

And speak of the devil.

"Lookit who I found," Chris teases, trailing behind a nurse as she pushes the plastic bassinet into the room.

Merri's eyes immediately well up with tears when she sees their son. She feels the same rush of hormones that came when she saw Gus for the first time. They make beautiful babies, she thinks, her and Chris.

"Oh," she squeaks a little, "He looks just like you."

"But with yer eyes," Chris tells her, lifting their son into Merri's arms.

"He really does," Merri says, her voice watery. "We made another gorgeous little baby, Chris."

"Aw, stop getting all sappy on me, Mere," Chris says, the smile never leaving his face.

"I can't help it," she sniffles, stroking the baby's tiny cheek. "I'm all hormonal. We have to get Pride to bring Gus by. She needs to meet her baby brother."

Chris moves to lounge on the hospital bed next to Merri. "D'ya promise not ta cry when she gets here?"

Merri expertly shifts the baby so he's being held by one arm and uses the other to pinch Chris' bicep through his shirt. "Making fun of your hormonal wife isn't nice, Chris."

She pauses and then a thought occurs, "We never did decide on a name for him."

Chris scratches at the back of his neck. "'Bout that..." he mutters.

"Oh Chris," Merri frowns. "You named him?"

"Now, Mere," Chris raises his hands in surrender, "In my dafense the nurse asked me 'bout a name an' I couldn't ask you, on accounta the sedation. So..."

"So you picked a name," Merri says flatly, annoyance written plainly on her tired features. Chris knows instantly he's fucked up.

"Wait'll ya hear tha name and my reas'n'ng 'fore you get mad at me?" he asks, sliding a hand behind her neck and massaging at the one spot he knows makes her go to mush.

Merri hums in contentment as his fingers dig into tense muscles. "Okay, tell me."

Chris runs his hand over the baby's head, "You still gotta sign the certif'cate, so it ain't all official. But I though Brody Dwayne LaSalle. He was a lil shaky when the pulled him out and he's a fighter, jus' like you. Shoulda heard him in the nurs'ry, gotta set of lungs on him too, jus' like you and 'cause King is tha one that brought ya ta the hospital..."

Chris holds his breath as the name and his reasoning sinks in. Merri looks down at the baby and nods.

"Yeah," she says softly. "That's his name. Our little Brody."

"It's not gonna be too confusin'?" Chris knows he should shut up since Merri isn't arguing, but he can't help himself.

Merri's attention is focused on their son as she shakes her head. "No. No, it's perfect."

She reaches out blindly to hold his hand. Chris squeezes her hand, "Should I run an' get Gus? Think it's 'bout time she met her baby brother."

"I think it's the perfect time for our family to be together," Merri grins.

Later, when Gus finally meets her baby brother, the toddler pokes out her lower lip and reaches a tentative hand out to pet his soft, little newborn hands; Merri knows that it doesn't get any better than this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Soooo, this one is SUPER long. It kind of got away from me. This would be my reasoning behind naming their son Brody, I hope it makes as much sense to you all as it does to me. :)
> 
> Honestly, something about this story didn't translate from my head to the page like I wanted it to, but I'm pretty happy with it.
> 
> So, drop a review and let me know what you think :)


	5. Chapter 5

Merri and Chris don't really like to bring Gus and Brody to the office if they can help it. They don't like to expose the kids to the terrible things they have to deal with.

But sometimes, it just can't be helped.

Like today.

"Chris!" Merri shouts from the driveway, "Come on! We have to get a move on. We're already running late."

"Don't get yer panties in a twist, woman," Chris shouts back, holding Brody under one arm like a football.

The four-year-old is grinning and giggling like an escaped mental patient. The football hold is his favorite.

"Stop squirmin' Brody," Chris commands, "Yer wigglin' more'n a tadpole."

"Sorry, Daddy!" the little boy giggles, going limp in LaSalle's arms.

(Which might actually be worse, Chris thinks, since the boy is now dead weight.)

He locks the door and jogs quickly down the walk, meeting Merri in front of the car. "Alright, ready ta hit the road?"

Merri rolls her eyes and lifts Brody into her arms. "Daddy is so silly," she laughs, "Since he thinks he can go to work with his shorts on."

Chris looks down and groans. His basketball shorts are the only things covering his legs.

"Damn," he mutters, sliding the car keys into Merri's blazer's pocket, "I'll be right back."

Merri buckles Brody into his car seat and Gus looks over from her own, "Mama?"

"Yes, baby?" Merri hands Brody a toy car.

(She has them hidden in every crevice in the car, the house, the office, even a few jacket pockets. They're Brody's latest obsession.)

(At least they're easier to carry around than the dinosaur toys he was obsessed with six months ago.)

"How come me and Brody can wear shorts but you and Daddy can't?" she wonders out loud, tiny fingers combing through a Barbie's hair.

Merri laughs, "Because daddy and I have to help Papa King chase bad guys."

"And shorts means boo boo knees!" Brody pipes up, kicking his feet against the back of the driver's seat and running his toy car over the arm of his car seat.

"And shorts mean boo boo knees," Merri agrees with a laugh. She climbs into the passenger seat of the car just as Chris comes running from the house.

"We can hit th' road now," Chris shouts, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the car.

"Hit the road, Jack!" Gus giggles wildly, singing off-key to the song Sebastian had taught her.

Chris and Merri barely have time to say goodbye to their kids before Pride drags them and Sonja out to their crime scene.

The kids are too little to be left alone (not that Gus and Brody would care) so they rotate around who watches them.

Sometimes Loretta takes a few hours, sometimes Sebastian sets up a (child friendly) chemistry set in the corner of his lab.

Today it happens to be Danny who watches them. He has time off from classes at Tulane and Brody absolutely loves Danny, so it all works out.

"We're having a 'venture!" Gus shrieks when she sees Danny. She's got a tiny plastic shovel in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other.

Danny knows this. Pride had instructed him to scatter and bury plastic gold coins and jewels and little toys in the courtyard earlier.

"Have at it, Miss Augusta," he tells her with a wink.

Gus wrinkles her nose at her full name but grabs Brody's hand and leads her baby brother out to the courtyard.

Danny settles at the kitchen table, textbooks and notebooks and laptop spread out. He can still see the kids though, which is important.

(Gus has a penchant for getting lost. Merri still doesn't like taking the little girl to the grocery store.)

"Lookit this, Brody!" Gus giggles as she digs in a flowerbed. There are dirt smudges on her cheeks and forehead.

Brody rocks back on his heels. Well out of Gus' way.

(He's learned quickly to just go along with what his beloved big sister tells him to do. Brody doesn't get the chance to talk much, either.)

Gus brandishes her found treasure, the hidden coins and jewels.

"We gotta tell Papa King that the office is on toppa pirate treasure!" She grins as Brody takes some of the plastic pieces from her hands.

"Pirates?" he's scrunching his little nose, trying to reconcile the pirate from his favorite cartoon with the treasure in front of him.

Gus jumps up, dirt flying from the folds of her shorts and tee. She runs back into the main office area, Brody, slower, but following after her.

She dumps her handful of treasures on LaSalle's desk (he'll find plastic coins weeks later, buried under piles of crap. Merri will laugh and tell him that's what he gets for not cleaning his desk.).

Brody sits down in the middle of the room, zooming his cars around the floor.

(Sometimes he gets tired of Gus and her Loud Voice, which is her regular voice because Gus is always loud.)

(Merri and Chris are attempting to teach her the concept of an Inside Voice.)

(It's not working.)

Gus peeks into the kitchen. Danny is frowning and scratching at his head and cursing under his breath at his textbooks.

He must be working on math, Gus thinks. That's the face she always makes when Mama helps her with math homework.

(It's also the face Daddy makes when he has to do math too.)

Gus creeps back into the main office area, "Let's go 'sploring, Brody!"

Brody looks up from his cars, big brown eyes shining with excitement. He gets slowly to his feet, leaving the cars abandoned on the floor.

"'Sporin?" He asks, clapping his hands together.

Gus nods once and then leads them to LaSalle's desk.

"Daddy always keeps candy in the drawers," she mutters, yanking hard on the locked bottom drawer handle.

(Chris keeps extra ammo and a side arm down there. It stays locked, even before exploring magpie children came into his life.)

Gus lets out a little grunt when the drawer doesn't open. "Stupid lock," she mutters, reaching for the next drawer.

Brody is peering at his sister with excitement as she grins widely.

"Daddy's 'Bama keychain," Gus says reverently, pulling the keepsake out of the drawer and slipping it into her pocket.

(Chris will look for the keychain for two weeks before Merri finds it hidden under Gus' bed.)

Brody is looking in Sonja's desk drawers and comes up with her gym membership card. "Lookit, Gus! A cwedit cawd."

"We can buy a bajillion pieces of candy now!" Gus says, eyes wide.

(Sonja barely goes to the gym so it takes her a month or so to realize the card is missing.)

By the time the NCIS team comes back to the office, Gus and Brody have accumulated pens and paper clips and key chains and scraps of paper and even a dollar's worth of dimes.

LaSalle trudges into the office first, holding a towel to his forehead where he got smacked by a plank of wood.

"Daddy!" Brody shouts, throwing down the GI Joe he had been using to take down Gus' Barbies.

LaSalle drops the towel, hoping the blood has congealed enough, and holds open his arms to catch Brody.

"BD," Chris grins, swinging the child around and squeezing him tightly.

"Mama!" Gus shouts, running in from the kitchen. She hesitates a little when she sees her daddy, but decides to run into mama's arms.

(Gus can't seem to decide if she's a Mama's girl or a Daddy's girl. She waffles on this daily. She's also 6. Cut her a break.)

Merri easily lifts the skinny child into her hip, thinking that it might only be another year or so before her baby girl is too big to be carried.

"Hi, baby," Merri snuggles Gus close, "Were you a good girl for Danny?"

Gus shifts her eyes to the kitchen where a gloopy mess of Mac and cheese sits on the stove, a product of her pouting and stomping her feet in order to get Danny to let her make her own lunch.

"Yup," she finally answers, "I was great!"

Merri catches Chris' eye over Gus' head and the couple shares an eye roll.

"Augusta Sweet Pea!" Pride shouts as he comes back into the office.

"Papa King!" Gus shrieks, causing Merri to clamp one hand over the ear closest to her daughter. Gus scrambles to get out of Merri's arms so she can run full tilt at Pride.

He lifts her easily into his arms, swinging her in the air a little. Gus' fingers immediately go for the sunglasses resting in Pride's shirt pocket and hooks them on her face.

"How was today's treasure hunt?" Pride asks.

He listens patiently as Gus chatters his ear off.

(Pride is, after all, the father to a daughter. Laurel was never quite as chatty as Gus is, but all kids want is to be listened to.)

After a few minutes Chris can see that Pride is getting tired. They have been going non-stop since 7:30 that morning.

Listening to Gus chat can be exhausting (something Chris and Merri know all too well), so Chris calls out, "I think it's 'bout time for some grub. I dunno 'bout y'all but 'm starvin'."

Pride shoots his agent a grateful look and cuts over the tale Gus is spinning about a garden frog, "I think that's a wonderful idea, Christopher. Danny?"

The young man looks around the door, "Yessir?"

"Call Loretta and Sebastian," he says, "We're going for lunch."

Gus lets out a cheer, "Can we go for Cajun food?"

Merri and Percy share a laugh.

"She gets that all from you, LaSalle," Percy teases, shaking out her hair and then pulling it back into a ponytail.

LaSalle sticks his tongue out at her and lifts Brody onto his shoulders, "Come on, kiddos. Auntie So's bein' mean ta your dear ol' dad."

"No bein' mean!" Brody laughs, holding onto Chris' hair.

Percy smacks LaSalle's back, "Turnin' these kids against me. You oughta be ashamed of yourself, Christopher LaSalle."

She links arms with Merri, "I don't know how you put up with him, Merri."

Merri rolls her eyes affectionately, "Every day is a trial."

Chris lets out an indignant huff, "You luuuuvvveee me, Merri LaSalle!"

"Yeah, mama!" Gus pipes up, "You loooove daddy!"

"I loooove all of you," Merri teases, grinning at her little found family.

(Later, she would find a small pile of dirt underneath her desk. Merri would shake her head and groan, begging Pride not to encourage her children to dig around in the gardens.)

(He won't listen.)

(She knows this. She'll still beg anyway.)

(Chris thinks the dirt is damn hysterical until he finds a handful of yanked out weeds in his gym bag.)

(Those damn wonderful magpie children.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I just started a new job (Yay!) and school starts up again for me in a week (boo!) so I've been crazy busy and haven't had a chance to write much. But I've had this one written for about two weeks? I forgot all about it because I wanted to get the chapter about Brody's name out.
> 
> Anyway, I know NCIS:NOLA and Cherri aren't like the most popular things out there, so I'm super appreciative of all the reviews I've gotten (even if I'm terrible at responding to them! I'm sorry!) SO, thank you and I hope you enjoy this one! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Gus and her baby brother, Brody (named for his mama and middle named Dwayne for his Papa King) are thick as thieves as soon as the spitting image of Chris LaSalle can walk.

"Come on, Brody!" Gus can be heard shouting at all times of the day, leading him on adventures to find treasures (mama's purple pen, daddy's 'Bama hat, Papa King's gumbo spoon, Bashy's magnifying glass, Miss Loretta's scarf, Auntie So's favorite scrunchie, PP's connector cord)

(The two kids acquire a lot of the stuff that belongs to the grown-ups.)

(There's a lot of confusion and worry about memory loss when LaSalle's things first go missing after he gets his head smacked into a wall during a raid.)

As they grow up, Brody into a clone of LaSalle, but with his mama's eyes, and Gus a perfect mix of both her parents, they learn just how dangerous it is to work for NCIS.

(For all that Merri and Chris' job is dangerous, they've managed to never bring it home. Bruises and scrapes don't worry little kids. Bulletproof vests are a godsend.)

Gus is 17 and about to head to the University of Alabama ("Rooooolll Tiiiiiddde!" is all LaSalle will say for a week when she sends in her acceptance.) and Brody is 15 and entering his awkward puberty years when Merri gets shot in the stomach.

Auntie So picks them up from school, tears welling in her eyes from the adrenaline and fear. Gus' knees almost give out beneath her.

"Oh my gosh," she cries, her inherited drawl slurring her words, "Is it mama or daddy?"

"Or both?" Brody chimes in, his voice cracking, from puberty or fear, they'll never know.

"It's your mom," Auntie So says, "Get in the car."

They scramble into the backseat, holding hands like they haven't since she was 10 and he was 8 and they were terrified by the haunted house Danny and CJ took them to without Merri's permission.

Gus will be strong, she decides. No crying. Mama wouldn't cry, so she won't cry.

Brody won't cry because he is a teenage boy and teenage boys don't cry.

(Forget the fact that he sees his daddy cry when there's a tough case or even on that one day in May that neither he nor mama will seem to explain why it makes daddy so sad.)

Papa King meets them at the entrance to the hospital and both children, because their mama is in the hospital and they really are just children, fall into his embrace. Gus and Brody are asking questions, chattering over each other.

"Hush," Papa King finally says, arms wrapped tight around both sets of skinny shoulders. The LaSalle children go quiet in his embrace. Gus tucks her head in the join of his neck and shoulder.

"Your mama is gonna be just fine," is how he starts, and thank God for that. "Your dad is in with her right now. She was shot, but I am stressing that she will be fine."

Brody wipes a hand under his nose and looks like a lost little boy.

"You sure?" he asks in a tiny voice.

"I am 100% positive," Papa King says and they believe him. Papa King doesn't lie to them. He tells the hard truth, and Gus is grateful for that.

"Can we see her?" Gus asks, lower lip trembling and fingers twisting around the ring mama gave her for her Sweet 16.

Papa King nods, "'Course you can, sweet pea."

Her old nickname warms Gus, making her realize her fingers are cold despite the muggy New Orleans day.

Gus and Brody hold hands as Papa King and Auntie So lead them to Merri's room. Chris is standing guard outside, waiting for his kids.

As soon as his kids see him, they bolt, running full tilt into his arms.

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

Chris catches them, wrapping his arms around them tight.

"Hey, hey," he mutters, "It's all good. Your mama's gonna be jus' fine. I promise."

The last of the tension leaves Gus' shoulders.

Daddy promised.

Daddy never breaks a promise.

Her mama's gonna be just fine.

Gus tunes back in. Her daddy's telling them what happened.

"Your mama took a bullet to the stomach," he says, "But the docs patched her right up. She's sleepin' it off right now."

"I wanna see her," Gus puts on her 'stubborn' face, one she learned from Mama.

Chris eyes his daughter, "King's gonna take y'all home. You're stayin' with him, at least 'till Mama gets outta the hospital."

Brody lets Sonja put her arm around his waist (the boy is growing like a weed!) and steer him back towards the elevator.

King reaches out to grab Gus' hand, "Come on, baby girl. I'll make gumbo."

"I don't want gumbo," Gus all but stomps her foot, "I wanna see my mama!"

Tears sparkle in her big blue eyes and LaSalle sighs before gathering Gus into a huge hug.

"Augusta Emily, you are gonna be the death of me. Ya know that, right?" He mutters rhetorically and then leads Gus into Merri's room.

Gus lets out a little squeak at the sight of her mama all hooked up to monitors.

"She's fine, baby," LaSalle soothes, rubbing circles on Gus' back, "It looks worse th'n it is."

Her eyes wide and fixed on Merri sleeping away, Gus nods robotically and lets King pull her from the room.

LaSalle follows them into the hall.

"I'm gonna stay with Merri," Chris says, "I'll call later to say g'night."

He leans forward and kisses Gus' forehead, "That okay with you, Bossypants?"

"Yeah, that's okay with me, Daddy," she smiles and holds King's hand as the go to meet Sonja and Brody.

King wakes the LaSalle kids at seven the next morning because Merri misses her babies and needs to talk to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *waves* hi guys! This one's another snap that I've had written for ages. I know I haven't posted much lately, BUT i have a good reason! I started classes on Tuesday and I've been working at my new job three days a week since mid-January (it's so exciting and I love it a lot!)
> 
> So, writing and updating is a little slow, but I have a couple of exciting things in the pike (including two more case centrics and an AU oneshot)
> 
> As always, I love your feedback (and I'm sorry that I suck at responding!), my inbox is always open to comments, flailing, episode analysis and complaints!
> 
> Seriously, come chat with me! I get bored during class and during lulls at work. I promise I don't bite :)

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something new that I'm trying. LaSalle and Brody have me super entertained on Nola. This came to me the other day and I decided to write it, what I didn't expect was the fact that I would end my writing session with 3,000 words for different "snapshots" of Brody and LaSalle's life together with their kids.
> 
> Let me know if I should keep posting them and writing more. I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially since Brody/LaSalle isn't super popular in the Nola fandom! :)
> 
> Also! Big thanks to Kavi for reading this over and letting me know what she thinks :)


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